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Clutter creeps up on us. The longer we live in a house, the more things we seem to acquire. When it comes time to move, that's when we realize just how much we've accumulated through the years. But there are many things we can do to declutter our bedrooms and get organized. It shouldn't take more than a weekend to go through even the largest of bedrooms and purge, sort and organize everything.

1

Bring a trash can and a box into the room. As you go through items you find determine if any of them are trash or can be given away. Put the trash items in the trash can and the giveaway items in the box. Clothes that don’t fit or you haven’t worn in over a year belong in the giveaway box.

2

Section your bed into two halves. You do not need to mark the bed in any way, just make a mental note. One half is for items you can move to the basement, attic or storage shed. This includes wrapping paper, holiday decorations and other items you rarely need. The other side is for things you need to keep in your bedroom.

3

Put small clutter-catching bins, bowls or trays on top of your dresser, one for you and one for your spouse. Place cellphones, keys, cosmetics and lotion in their respective bins.

4

Clear the floor first. Pick up any items on the floor and sort them to the trash can, giveaway box, bins or onto the bed.

5

Clear off any furniture you have in the room. Sort those items just as you did with the floor. Consider whether any of the furniture pieces can be moved to another room or put in storage. The less furniture you have, the less tempted you will be to clutter them up again in the future. If potential buyers will be touring your home, aim for a clean, streamlined look.

6

Go through your closet. Group the clothing together by type. For example, put all the skirts together and then put all the shirts together next to them.

7

Hang a shoe rack over the closet door to store your shoes. If spaces are left, leave them at the bottom and hang purses on them.

8

Add a clothes-hanging rack to the door leading to the master bathroom. Use this rack to hang your robe, nightclothes or used towels.

9

Sort through the storage items you have on the bed. Place the items into plastic under-the-bed storage bins. Alternatively, place them in large square bins to store in the basement, attic or storage shed.

10

Label the storage bins and boxes with all the items inside. You can do this with a label maker or simply by taping a piece of paper to the top of the box.

11

Sort the items on the other half of the bed. Put them into bins and store the bins on your closet shelves. Label the bins with the items that are inside so you can find them easily in the future.

Things You Will Need

Trash can

Box

Small storage bins

Over the door shoe rack

Over the door clothes rack

Under-bed storage bins

Label maker

Paper

Tip

Enlist the help of a pushy friend who won’t let you keep everything no matter how hard you try.

About the Author

Based in southern Virginia, Kristy Robinson has been writing for various websites since 2008. Her work focuses on tutorials and self-help articles. Robinson holds a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from American InterContinental University.